This document discusses health psychology and the factors that influence health and illness. It covers the following key points: 1. Health psychology examines the biological, psychological, and social factors that influence physical health and illness. It takes a biopsychosocial approach. 2. Psychological factors like stress can directly and indirectly impact health by influencing health behaviors and choices. 3. Health psychologists focus on health promotion, prevention and treatment of illness, and helping people adjust to illness or follow treatment plans. 4. Personality, coping styles, social support systems, health habits, and illness perceptions all influence health according to health psychology.

1. Theresa Lowry-Lehnen
RGN, BSc (Hon’s) Nursing Science, PGCC, Dip Counselling, Dip Psychotherapy,
BSc (Hon’s) Clinical Science, PGCE (QTS), H. Dip. Ed, MEd
PhD student Health Psychology

2. 


Health psychology is the study of psychological
and behavioural processes in health, illness and
healthcare.
It is concerned with understanding how
psychological, behavioural and cultural factors are
involved in physical health and illness, in addition
to the biological causes that are well understood
by medical science.
Health psychology is concerned with all aspects of
health and illness across the life span.

3. Psychological factors can affect health directly (such
as stress causing the release of hormones such
as cortisol which damage the body over time) and
indirectly via a person's own behaviour choices which can
harm or protect health (such as smoking or taking
exercise).
 Health psychologists take a bio-psychosocial approach this means that they understand health to be the product
not only of biological processes (e.g. a
pathogen, tumour, etc.) but also of psychological
processes (e.g. stress, thoughts and beliefs, behaviours
such as smoking and exercise) and social processes (e.g.
socioeconomic status, culture and ethnicity).


4. In 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO)
defined health as "a complete state of physical,
mental, and social well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity".
 This definition was very forward looking for its time,
but is the core of health psychologists' conception of
health today.
 Rather than defining health as the absence of illness,
health is recognized as a state involving balance
among physical, mental, and social well-being.
 Many use the term "wellness" to refer to this optimum
state of health.


5. 
Health psychologists focus on health
promotion and maintenance, which includes
such issues as how to get children to develop
good health habits, how to promote regular
exercise, and how to design a media
campaign to get people to improve their
diets, stop smoking, drink in moderation etc.

6. 

They also study the psychological aspects of the
prevention and treatment of illness and teach
people in a high-stress occupations how to manage
stress effectively so that it will not adversely affect
their health.
Health psychologists also work with people who
are already ill to help them adjust more
successfully to their illness or to learn to follow
their treatment regimen.

7. 


Health Psychologists focus on the aetiology and
correlates of health, illness, and dysfunction.
Aetiology refers to the origins or causes of
illness, and health psychologists are especially
interested in the behavioural and social factors
that contribute to health or illness and dysfunction.
Such factors include health habits such as alcohol
consumption, smoking, exercise, and ways of
coping with stress.

8. Health psychologists also analyze and
attempt to improve health care systems and
the formulation of health policy.
 They study the impact of health institutions
and health professionals on peoples
behaviour and develop recommendations for
improving health care.


9. 


The way people react, respond, relate, and
retaliate to situations is what makes up their
personality.
Various psychological studies have been
conducted over the years to understand and
pinpoint exactly what a healthy personality is.
These studies have resulted in a number of
theories.
Carl Jung's theory of an individuated person
emphasizes on higher forces of nature and their
role-play in a healthy personality.

10. The theory of self-transcendence by Viktor Frankl talks
about finding meaning in our past and our actions in
order to have a healthy mental state.
 The importance of social adjustment is reflected in the
theory by Erich Fromm.
 Carl Rogers theory of the fully functional person, shed’s
light on one's ability to take his own decisions and be
spontaneous.
 The mature person theory by Gordon Allport, stresses
that such a personality is developed by moving forward
and not by pining on the past. He was one of a kind in an
era where all other experts stressed on the past.


11. 



Another important theory on self-growth and healthy
personality is Abraham Maslow’s self-actualization theoryrealization of ones full potential. This hierarchy is most often
displayed as a pyramid.
The lowest levels of the pyramid are made up of the most basic
needs, while the more complex needs are located at the top of
the pyramid.
Needs at the bottom of the pyramid are basic physical
requirements including the need for food, water, sleep, and
warmth.
Once these lower-level needs have been met, people can move
on to the next level of needs, which are for safety and security.

12. 


As people progress up the pyramid, needs
become increasingly psychological and social. The
need for love, friendship, and intimacy become
important.
Further up the pyramid, the need for personal
esteem and feelings of accomplishment take
priority.
Like Carl Rogers, Maslow emphasized the
importance of self-actualization, which is a
process of growing and developing as a person in
order to achieve individual potential.

13. Abraham Maslow believed that these needs
are similar to instincts and play a major role
in motivating behaviour.
 Physiological, security, social, and esteem
needs are deficiency needs (also known
as D-needs), meaning that these needs arise
due to deprivation. Satisfying these lowerlevel needs is important in order to avoid
unpleasant feelings or consequences.


15. 








Over the years, the development of these theories have led
psychologists to sum up the human personality into five
important traits also known as OCEAN. It is one of the most
common and famous theories of all for personality analysis.
The OCEAN theory comprises five main spheres:
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism.
Out of these five, the first four are positive traits.
Neuroticism, in its own, is a negative trait. However, the
opposite of it, i.e., emotional stability, is a trait of a healthy
personality.

16. A healthy personality reflects openness and eagerness towards
things old or new. It covers new experiences, new ideas, thoughts,
letting go of older conventions and accepting the changing times.
 Deals with creativeness, a strong imagination, adventures and
risks.
 Curiousness is also a part of their nature and they are eager to gain
more knowledge.
 They do not have preconceived notions about people or situations
and have an open mind towards contemporary ideas.
 They always aim for a higher quality in life and improve upon their
own productivity, be it at home, or work.
 They are constantly striving to better their styles and techniques.
 They believe that a progressive outlook is important for personal
improvement.


17. 







This trait describes the characteristics of self-organization and efficiency.
A healthy personality is generally goal-oriented and has a perspective of
what they want in life.
Such personalities are competent and competitive.
They are able to judge themselves and others with a clear and analytical
mind.
They do not have false notions about their capacities and they can handle
failure well.
A person with a healthy personality does not over-criticize himself, yet is
always striving to better his own self. Such people are committed to the
work they do and are generally self-sufficient. They make the best out of
the situations and themselves.
They do not complain, nor indulge in blaming.
Take acceptance of their own faults and behaviour and are always working
on them. They are consistent in their work and do not get bored easily.
They have a high level of tolerance when it comes to pressure. They are
always working hard, striving to succeed in all endeavours.

18. 





This personality is warm and welcoming to new people. Such
people are at ease with making new acquaintances and are
relaxed while having conversations.
They are outgoing and friendly by nature and have a large group
of friends. They are comfortable with people of different interests
and have a basic curiosity about others.
They have an appealing and magnetic personality, which more
often than not influences others.
They have a positive attitude and an easygoing charm, which
helps them build more contacts and keeps them in a great social
environment.
They tend to make others feel good and positive about
themselves.
They generally accept others as they are.

19. 






Agreeableness generally refers to the level of social trust and regard that a
person displays. A healthy personality, however, has a balanced outlook
towards the matters of trust and intimacy.
Such personalities do not trust others too easily, but they also do not
doubt people for no apparent reason.
They are generally helpful to others and even strangers. However, they are
street smart and do not divulge personal information to unknown people.
They are modest to people in need and do not hesitate to help. Yet, they
do judge the situation and try to understand whether the person truly
needs the help asked for.
They are straightforward in their communication and do not believe in
beating around the bush.
They are honest in making an opinion. However, they also take care not to
hurt the other person's sentiments and are tactful in their approach.
In times of conflict, they prefer to work out with calm words and avoid
arguments or quarrels.

20. 

Neuroticism, a term in itself, is a long-term disposition to negative
emotions, such as distress, anger, frustration, hatred, jealousy, etc.
It is not a part of a healthy personality which is formed by the
opposite of neuroticism, i.e., Emotional Stability.
Emotional stability- Refers to the level of control a person has over
their own emotions. A healthy personality is devoid of
unreasonable and unwanted negative emotions towards others
and even oneself. Such people have a positive self-regard and a
realistic self-judgment. They keep feelings of anger, jealousy, and
hatred at bay and do not indulge in self-loathing or pity. They are
not impulsive and take rational, well-judged decisions. They tend
to protect their health, self-esteem, and well-being despite any
problems of their life.

21. 

Type A personalities are competitive, high
achievers and have a high sense of time urgency. As
a result of these combined traits Type A's are usually
found to be busy working on their own projects. Type
A's may have felt insecure at one point of their lives
and decided to fight the insecurity by changing their
lives and making achievements as fast as they can.
Type B personalities are the opposite of type A's.
They are relaxed, laid back and not easily stressed.
While type B can be achievers too still they won't be
as competitive as Type A's. Type b can delay work and
do it in the last moment, some of them can turn
into procrastinators which is something that a type
A can never do.

22. 

Type C personalities love details and can spend a lot of time
trying to find out how things work and this makes them
very suitable for technical jobs. Type C are
not assertive and they can suppress their own desires even
if there is something that they dislike. The lack of
assertiveness results in stress and sometimes in
depression. Type Cs are very vulnerable to depression
compared to type A and type B.
Type D personalities have a negative outlook towards life
and are pessimistic. A small event that is not even noticed
by type B can ruin type D's day. Type D might become
socially withdrawn as a result of fear of rejection even if
they like to be around people. Type D's are known for
suppressing their emotions and this makes them the most
vulnerable type to depression.

23. 

Personality factors relate to health in five main ways:
1. Personality may influence stress.
2. Personality may affect coping mechanism options
and effectiveness.
3. Personality may influence the amount of social
support and social relationships.
4. Personality may affect individual’s health
habits, preventing steps to modify behaviour, and
adherence to medical regimes.
5. Personality may shape personal accounts of
symptoms and pain and the expression of such
symptoms to others (i.e. friends, family, medical
professionals).

24. Optimism
 1) The very expectation that good things will occur and
bad things will not
 2) Describing bad events as the result of external,
unstable, and specific causes.
 Individuals with optimistic thinking and high selfesteem leads to fewer infections (Peterson &
Seligman, 1987), quicker post-operative recovery
(Scheier et al., 1989), decreased risk of post-partum
depression, and, most importantly, a longer life by
way of decreased morbidity due to cancer and
cardiovascular illness (Peterson et al., 1998).

25. 

Extraversion – Outgoing and social individuals
have high levels of energy, often assume
leadership roles, and seek challenges. Spiro et al.
(1990) found that self-reported extraverts had
fewer physiological and physical symptoms.
Internal Locus of Control – The perception of one’s
control over events and what happens in their life
plays a significant role in mood and healthy
behaviour. Greater perceptions of internal control
leads to decreased incidence of depression
(Helgeson, 1992).

26. Pessimism –two trains of though for pessimism:



1) The very expectation that bad things will occur
and good things will not.
2) Describing bad events as the result of external
and universal causes.
A pessimistic outlook in life may lead to stressful
anxiety. The biochemical imbalance may hinder
protective functions, thereby causing greater risk
at developing Parkinson’s disease (Lyons, 2004),
dementia, cancer, and immunologic disorders.

27. 
Type A Personality – This personality type is characterized by: time
urgency – impatience, anxiety, little time for relaxation, and poor
sleep patterns. Competition – strenuous workers, and
compulsive/neurotic tendencies. Anger, aggressiveness and
hostility.
 Studies suggest individuals with Type A personalities have much
greater risk for cardiovascular disease, however, more recent
lines of research indicate minute or no correlation (Ragland &
Brand, 1988). Nonetheless, Type A’s report greater symptoms of
minor illness (Suls & Marco, 1990).
 External Locus of Control – Individuals who feel external sources
control their actions, rather than being internal-borne, see
success as a matter of chance. They are more receptive to
supervision. Given the lack of manipulating their control
internally, externals often fail to exercise, diet, and seek medical
treatment.

28. All cultures have systems of health beliefs to
explain what causes illness, how it can be
cured or treated, and who should be involved
in the process.
 The extent to which patients perceive patient
education as having cultural relevance for
them can have a profound effect on their
reception to information provided and their
willingness to use it.


29. 

Western industrialized societies which see
disease as a result of natural scientific
phenomena, advocate medical treatments that
combat microorganisms or use sophisticated
technology to diagnose and treat disease.
Other societies believe that illness is the result of
supernatural phenomena and promote prayer or
other spiritual interventions that counter the
presumed disfavour of powerful forces.

30. There are several important cultural beliefs
among Asians and Pacific Islanders. The
extended family has significant influence,
and the oldest male in the family is often the
decision maker and spokesperson.
 The interests and honour of the family are
more important than those of individual
family members. Older family members are
respected, and their authority is often
unquestioned.


31. 

Among Asian cultures, maintaining harmony is an
important value; therefore, there is a strong
emphasis on avoiding conflict and direct
confrontation.
Due to respect for authority, disagreement with
the recommendations of health care professionals
is avoided. However, lack of disagreement does
not indicate that the patient and family agree with
or will follow treatment recommendations.

32. Among Chinese patients, because the
behaviour of the individual reflects on the
family, mental illness or any behaviour that
indicates lack of self-control may produce
shame and guilt.
 As a result, Chinese patients may be reluctant
to discuss symptoms of mental illness or
depression.


33. 


Many African-Americans participate in a culture
that centres on the importance of family and
church.
There are extended bonds with grandparents,
aunts, uncles, cousins, or individuals who are not
biologically related but who play an important role
in the family system.
Usually, a key family member is consulted for
important health-related decisions. The church is
an important support system for many AfricanAmericans.

34. 
Some sub-populations of cultures, such as
those from India and Pakistan, are reluctant
to accept a diagnosis of severe emotional
illness or mental retardation because it
severely reduces the chances of other
members of the family getting married.

35. In Vietnamese culture, mystical beliefs
explain physical and mental illness.
 Health is viewed as the result of a
harmonious balance between the poles of hot
and cold that govern bodily functions.
 Vietnamese don’t readily accept Western
mental health counselling and
interventions, particularly when selfdisclosure is expected. However, it is possible
to accept assistance if trust has been gained.


36. 

Each ethnic group brings its own perspectives and
values to the health care system, and many health
care beliefs and health practices differ from those
of the traditional Western health care culture. The
expectation of many health care professionals has
been that patients will conform to mainstream
values.
Such expectations have frequently created barriers
to care that have been compounded by differences
in language and education between patients and
providers from different backgrounds.

37.  Cultural differences affect patients’
attitudes about medical care and their
ability to understand, manage, and cope
with the course of an illness, the
meaning of a diagnosis, and the
consequences of medical treatment.

38. Patients and their families bring culture specific
ideas and values related to concepts of health
and illness, reporting of symptoms, expectations
for how health care will be delivered, and beliefs
concerning medication and treatments.
 In addition, culture specific values influence
patient roles and expectations, how much
information about illness and treatment is
desired, how death and dying will be managed,
bereavement patterns, gender and family roles,
and processes for decision making.


39. 


A number of health behaviours are known to have
a negative impact on health; smoking, excessive
alcohol consumption, poor diet, lack of exercise
and risky sexual practices.
Smoking is currently the most influential behaviour
on health and is estimated that half of all lifetime
smokers will die prematurely because of their
habit, although the risks do decline if smoking is
given up (Doll et al 2008).
Following the health risks of smoking in magnitude
are the risks of being obese.

40. Excessive alcohol consumption has become
more problematic; one in 6 deaths on the
roads is alcohol related and one in six people
attending A&E has alcohol related injuries or
problems. Alcohol is related to liver disease,
cardiovascular problems and cancer.
 The UK record with regard to sexual health is
no better- highest teenage pregnancy rates
and the rates of STI’s doubled in the previous
decade.


41. Despite the obvious risks, many people
continue to engage in unhealthy behaviours.
 Among the younger age groups (up to 19 yrs)
more females than males smoke, but in the
older age group this pattern is reversed.
 In the UK, government surveys show that
almost three quarters of smokers say that
they would like to give up, and each year over
half a million people access stop smoking
services.


42. The percentage of obese people in the UK
increased dramatically over the latter part of
the 20th century, with 23% of the adult
population and 17% of children categorised
as obese in 2008.
 Analysis of lifestyle changes over this time
period suggests the increase is primarily due
to people having a more sedentary lifestyle.


43. ONS surveys documents that more than one
in three UK adults exceeds the safe drinking
guidelines each week.
 Rates of binge drinking are higher in the
younger age groups, and range for girls are
approaching rates for boys.


44. 

High and increasing rates of sexually transmitted
infections and unplanned pregnancies are a direct
result of the significant number of people who
engage in risky sexual behaviour.
In the UK the average the average age of first
sexual encounters is age 16. Approximately 40% of
young people aged 15-16 years, 29% of those aged
14-15 years, and 14% of those aged 13-14 years are
sexually active and almost half report risky sexual
behaviour of not using condoms or other forms of
contraception.

45. 


One key area of health psychology research is the
study of what motivates people to engage in
healthy and unhealthy behaviour.
Health psychologists help people adopt healthier
behaviours, including motivating people to give up
smoking, drink alcohol sensibly, take more
exercise, eat a healthier diet and engage in safe
sexual behaviours.
Health behaviours like any other behaviours draw
heavily on general psychological theories and
models of behaviour to understand health
behaviour.

46. Stimulus  Response
 Classical conditioning can be used to explain some of our
health behaviours and why it can be difficult to change these
behaviours, as our environment may cue our unhealthy
behaviours.
 Often people turn to eating as an act of comfort. In these
instances, food that has repeatedly been paired with
affection in the past, comes to trigger the same feelings of
comfort.
 The pleasure of smoking becomes paired with many other
daily activities. Repeated reminders of the circumstances in
which they used to have a cigarette example after a
meal, might explain why so many people find it hard to
break bad health habits.

47. 



Stimulus  Response
Health psychologists use the understanding of how classical conditioning
affects behaviour to design interventions to help people change their
behaviour.
Two commonly used interventions which rely on classical conditioning to
break bad health habits are
Stimulus control – to control the environmental stimuli which cue the
behaviour (eg. smokers advised to avoid situations they associate with
smoking or those who overeat advised to remove snack foods, to avoid
eating out or spending too long shopping for food).
Response substitution- finding more suitable alternatives for problem
behaviours that are automatically cued (eg. people who smoke because
they were cued by needing to do something with their hands can be
encouraged to carry dummy cigarettes or those who seek oral
gratification can be encouraged to use chewing gum or sweets- overeaters
encouraged to keep a stock of health low fat snacks)

48. 

Operant conditioning is dependant on the
environmental response to the behaviour, rather
than environmental cues. Operant conditioning
processes explain how our environment rewards
and punishes us for our behaviour.
For example, a teenager who starts to smoke may
gain social approval from their peers and may
avoid being teased for refusing a cigarette. This
combination of positive reinforcement for the
smoking behaviour and punishment for not
smoking leads to the establishment of the
behaviour.

49. 


Health psychologists can also use operant
conditioning principles to help change behaviour.
Charges levied by health care providers for missed
appointments for example can be seen as an
intervention using the operative conditioning
principle of punishment.
Generally though punishments are negative
consequences and not as powerful as rewards and
positive outcomes in changing behaviour.

50. Social learning theory is important in explaining various
health behaviours.
 Young people who see adults smoking are far more likely
to smoke themselves, especially if they see the behaviour
associated with other desirable features.
 Likewise we can provide good examples to children that
may encourage them to act in a healthy manner.
 The involvement of celebrities endorsing health
behaviours works on the social learning principle that
people will take more notice of the message if they admire
the person giving it and aspire to be like them.


51. 




Another way in which health psychologists can
understand factors which might determine health
behaviours is to describe the thought processes
(cognitive) which occur in a persons mind as they
think about health behaviours.
Some commonly used cognitive models of health
behaviour are;
The health belief model
Theory of planned behaviour
Transtheoretical model

54. The Health Belief Model (HBM) is one of the first theories of
health behaviour. It is a conceptual framework that describes a
person's health behaviour as an expression of health beliefs.
 It was developed in the 1950s by a group of U.S. Public Health
Service social psychologists who wanted to explain why so few
people were participating in programs to prevent and detect
disease.
 The health belief model proposes that a person's health-related
behaviour depends on the person's perception of four critical
areas:





the severity of a potential illness,
the person's susceptibility to that illness,
the benefits of taking a preventive action, and
the barriers to taking that action.

55. 

The model postulates that health-seeking
behaviour is influenced by a person’s perception of
a threat posed by a health problem and the value
associated with actions aimed at reducing the
threat.
HBM addresses the relationship between a
person’s beliefs and behaviours. It provides a way
to understand and predict how clients will behave
in relation to their health and how they will comply
with health care therapies.

56. There are six major concepts in the HBM:






1. Perceived Susceptibility
2. Perceived severity
3. Perceived benefits
4. Perceived costs
5. Motivation
6. Enabling or modifying factors

57. 





Perceived Susceptibility: refers to a person’s perception
that a health problem is personally relevant or that a
diagnosis of illness is accurate.
Perceived severity: even when one recognizes personal
susceptibility, action will not occur unless the individual
perceives the severity to be high enough to have serious
organic or social complications.
Perceived benefits: refers to the patient’s belief that a given
treatment will cure the illness or help to prevent it.
Perceived Costs: refers to the complexity, duration, and
accessibility and accessibility of the treatment.
Motivation: includes the desire to comply with a treatment
and the belief that people should do what.
Modifying factors: include personality variables, patient
satisfaction, and socio-demographic factors.

58. 



Is health behaviour that rational?
Its emphasis on the individual (HBM ignores social
and economic factors)
The absence of a role for emotional factors such as
fear and denial.
Alternative factors may predict health behaviour,
such as outcome expectancy (whether the person
feels they will be healthier as a result of their
behaviour) and self-efficacy (the person’s belief in
their ability to carry out preventative behaviour)
(Seydel et al. 1990; Schwarzer 1992)

60. Developed by Ajzen in1991, the theory of planned
behaviour has its origins in more general social psychology
models, but is one of the most commonly used models of
health behaviour.
 It is derived from an earlier formulation called the theory
of reasoned action.
 It has certain advantages over the health belief model in
that the social environment is given prominence in its
ability to influence our behaviour.
 It still shares some of the disadvantages of all cognitive
models, however, in that it also assumes that people make
rational and considered decisions about their health.


62. 

It is one of the most predictive persuasion theories.
It has been applied to studies of the relations
among beliefs, attitudes, behavioural
intentions and behaviours in various fields such
as advertising, public relations, advertising
campaigns and healthcare.
The theory states that attitude toward
behaviour, subjective norms, and perceived
behavioural control, together shape an individual's
behavioural intentions and behaviours.

63. Concepts of key variables
Behavioural beliefs and attitude toward behaviour
Behavioural belief: an individual's belief about
consequences of particular behaviour. The concept is
based on the subjective probability that the behaviour will
produce a given outcome.
 Attitude toward behaviour: an individual's positive or
negative evaluation of self-performance of the particular
behaviour. The concept is the degree to which
performance of the behaviour is positively or negatively
valued. It is determined by the total set of accessible
behavioural beliefs linking the behaviour to various
outcomes and other attributes.


64. Normative beliefs and subjective norms
 Normative belief: an individual's perception of
social normative pressures, or relevant others'
beliefs that he or she should or should not perform
such behaviour.
 Subjective norm: an individual's perception about
the particular behaviour, which is influenced by the
judgment of significant others
(e.g., parents, spouse, friends, teachers).

65. Control beliefs and perceived behavioural control
Perceived behavioural control: an individual's perceived
ease or difficulty of performing the particular behaviour
(Ajzen, 1991) It is assumed that perceived behavioural
control is determined by the total set of accessible control
beliefs.
 Control beliefs: an individual's beliefs about the presence
of factors that may facilitate or impede performance of
the behaviour (Ajzen, 2001).The concept of perceived
behavioural control is conceptually related to self-efficacy.


66. Behavioural intention and behaviour
 Behavioural intention: an indication of an individual's
readiness to perform a given behaviour. It is assumed to be
an immediate antecedent of behaviour (Ajzen, 2002). It is
based on attitude toward the behaviour, subjective
norm, and perceived behavioural control, with each
predictor weighted for its importance in relation to the
behaviour and population of interest.
 Behaviour: an individual's observable response in a given
situation with respect to a given target. Ajzen said a
behaviour is a function of compatible intentions and
perceptions of behavioural control in that perceived
behavioural control is expected to moderate the effect of
intention on behaviour, such that a favourable intention
produces the behaviour only when perceived behavioural
control is strong.

67. 


The theory of planned behaviour has been
particularly successful in predicting behaviours
such as smoking, alcohol consumption and
exercise.
The perceived behavioural control and a related
concept of self efficacy, has been particularly
useful in the prediction of health behaviours.
Studies (Armitage and Conner 2005) have shown
that factors within the theory of planned behaviour
can explain about 60% of the variability in our
intentions.

68. There are some criticisms of the theory of planned
behaviour.
 As this model was developed as a general model of
behaviour, it does not have any specific reference to
health values like the health belief model does.
 The model considers only cognitive determinants of
attitudes and beliefs.
 One of the most promising extra variables is that of
anticipated regret which relates to the strength of
emotional disappointment which may occur if the
intended behaviour is not completed.


69. The theory of planned behaviour and the health belief
models also only relate to the motivational stage, or
intention formation stage and do not address what can be
termed the action stage which relates to the translation of
intention into behaviour (Conner and Sparks 2005)
 Research suggests even when intention is high, people do
not always follow through with the intended behaviour
(Conner and Sparks 2005)
 Further analysis by Webb and Sheeran (2006) demonstrates
that in various studies which have successfully increased
intention, the impact on behaviour has been more modest.
 Much research has investigated the intention- behaviour
gap, and one of the promising strands appears to be that of
implementation intentions.


70. 


Implementation intentions
(Gollwitzer and Shaal (1998)
An implementation intention requires the person to
make a specific plan as to when and where they will
carry out the behaviour.
Studies (Gollwitzer and Shaal (1999) showed that
implementation intention can help people work
towards the attainment of their goal, and over time, it
can help make the process an automatic behaviour.
It has a good rate of success for a range of health
behaviours- such as improved diets and increased
levels of exercise (Sheeran et al 2005)

71.  Motivation is defined as the process that
initiates, guides and maintains goaloriented behaviours. Motivation is what
causes us to act.
 It involves the
biological, emotional, social and
cognitive forces that activate behaviour.
In everyday usage, the term motivation is
frequently used to describe why a person

72. 



There are three major components to motivation:
activation, persistence and intensity.
Activation involves the decision to initiate a
behaviour.
Persistence is the continued effort toward a goal
even though obstacles may exist.
Intensity is the concentration and vigour that goes
into pursuing a goal.

73. Extrinsic Vs. Intrinsic Motivation
Different types of motivation are frequently
described as being either extrinsic or
intrinsic.
 Extrinsic motivations are those that arise
from outside of the individual and often
involve rewards.
 Intrinsic motivations are those that arise
from within the individual.


74. Key to facilitating successful behaviour change
 Building self-efficacy while recognising autonomy
 Identifying and facilitating readiness to change
 Facilitating motivation to change
 Helping to prevent and manage relapses
 Fostering a good working alliance
 Using evidence-based procedures
 Providing relevant information and advice
 Allowing sufficient time for change

75. Building self-efficacy with useful goal-setting
 A client's sense of self-efficacy in making behaviour change can be
greatly aided by setting useful and useable goals to build and
maintain motivation.
Goals should be clear plans for concrete actions
 Goals should be expressed as behaviours the client intends to do,
which will distinguish them from wishful thinking (e.g., "I wish I
could stop smoking"), or good intentions (e.g., "I really must
exercise more"), or desirable outcomes (e.g., "I'd really like to lose
some weight").
Goals should be realistically challenging
 If goals are too hard, the sense of self-efficacy will be lost; if they
are too easy they won't inspire much effort.

76. Goals should incorporate the client's interests
 It is difficult to be motivated to work on something that
is not genuinely interesting. Exercise routines may be
made more interesting by, for example, listening to a
book on CD at the same time. Healthy eating and
drinking can and should be very interesting.
Goals should conform to the client's values
 Some of our important basic ideas about ourselves
involve a sense of personal integrity. Different people
may well have different values, as do different societies
and cultures, including about desirable eating and
drinking.

77. Goals should have verifiable outcomes

Verifiable outcomes will allow clients to see themselves being
successful at achieving the goals they have set. This in turn will
build self-efficacy so that they will be more likely to keep
achieving the goals. Verifiable outcomes provide observable
evidence of achievement, as opposed to desirable outcomes
which are something that is hoped for.
Goals should depend on the client's own efforts

It is important that achieving goals does not depend on the
actions or reactions of things outside of the client's control. This is
the aspect of goal-setting many health professionals get wrong.
For example, a good goal is to eat sensibly, because that's under
the person's control; a poor goal would be to lose 5 kg, because
that's not under the person's control.

78. Goals should be achieved reasonably soon

Distant goals tend to be weaker motivators, while
closer goals tend to be stronger motivators.
Daunting goals can be broken into manageable
steps so that they are seen as a series of sub-goals.
Goals should be set with the involvement of the client

Collaborative goal-setting is the beginning of all
successful behaviour change programs and how we
show practical respect for our client's autonomy.

79. 






The Trans-theoretical Model /Wheel of Change; proposed
by the psychologists James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente helps people make changes and considers how it
can be used for structuring coaching/ therapy intervention.
The model is particularly helpful in situations where a client
is trying to break a habitual/ addictive behaviour which is
creating repeated problems for them.
It can be applied to a range of habitual problems, including:
Smoking
Misuse of alcohol/ drugs
Eating problems
Other addictive behaviours

82. Prochaska and Di Clemente’s model has been
set out in a number of different ways to
illustrate the stages that a person often goes
through on the path to change.
 One possible way of listing these stages is as
follows:


83. Pre-Contemplation:
Client is not thinking
at all about changing
their behaviour.
 After PreContemplation, at
some point the client
then moves into
Stage 1 of the model.


84. 
Stage 1 –
Contemplation: Here
the client is in
ambivalence – i.e.
they can see some
benefits in changing
but also are aware of
or experiencing the
benefits of not
changing, so as yet
they haven’t started
to change and are a
stage of indecision.

85. 


Stage 2 – Decision:
The client makes a decision
to change.
Usually this occurs after
some specific triggering
event, which increases their
motivation to change – for
example, if smoking
cigarettes / abusing alcohol is
the problem behaviour, then
an event such as a relative or
friend experiencing serious
health problems from
smoking /drinking might
trigger the client to decide to
cut down their own smoking/
drinking.

86. 

Stage 3- Action: The
client now begins to
act.
This may be by
stopping the problem
behaviour altogether
(e.g. by ceasing
smoking/ drinking
alcohol) or by reducing
it (e.g. not giving up
smoking /drinking
altogether, but
reducing it).

87. 
Stage 4 –
Maintenance: If
things are going well,
then the client
maintains their
progress in stopping
or cutting down the
problem/ addictive
behaviour.

88. 



Permanent Exit – If the client is able permanently to
avoid returning to the problem behaviour then they
can be said to have permanently exited from the cycle.
Usually they may be said to be controlling or
managing the problem rather than that it has
disappeared.
For example, they might still get cravings to smoke/
drink alcohol, but so long as they avoid actually
smoking / drinking in practice they will avoid the
harmful physical effects associated with smoking/
alcohol
However, in most cases before they achieve
permanent exit, the client will experience Stage 5:

89. 

Stage 5: Lapse:
The client slips back
temporarily into the
problem behaviour
(e.g. perhaps they are
particularly stressed
one night and they
have a cigarette/ drink
alcohol).

90. 

Prochaska and DiClemente represent the stages 15 as a wheel or cycle which people generally go
round several times before they are able to exit
permanently.
The model is therefore sometimes referred to as
"The Wheel of Change", but should not be
confused with the ‘Wheel of Life’, with which most
coaches are familiar as a common tool for initial
assessment of different areas of a person’s life!

91. The 'lapse' stage in Prochaska and DiClemente’s
model is sometimes called 'relapse'. This distinction
can therefore be used to highlight to the client that if
they have a slip-up or lapse, they have a choice – they
can either:
 Get back on track, recognise their progress and try to
learn from the experience of lapsing as to what they
might do differently the next time to avoid lapsing
again in a similar situation
 OR
 Lose heart and see the lapse as a sign that they will
never achieve change in which case the lapse may
become a permanent relapse.


92. 

If the client does relapse, then the therapist/ coach
can encourage them to respond to the situation
practically.
Rather than see the lapse as a sign of failure of will
power, just see it as a natural stage in the process
of change and encourage the client to see that
they have a choice about whether to get back on
track.

94. 


How can the Prochaska and DiClemente’s Model be
used?
A coach/therapist can use the model when working
with a client either by sharing it with the client or
else as a framework to work to behind the scenes.
The client can be shown the model of change,
asked to locate what stage they feel they are at
currently and what stages they have moved
through, and to elaborate on circumstances and
their thoughts about this.

95. 

Often, seeing the model of change and the
stages, enables a client to feel that their perceived
problem is not so extraordinary as they may
initially think and that they are actually following
quite normal stages in working through their
problem.
Explaining to a client that a relapse is normal and
doesn’t have to lead to failure, can assist the client
in dealing with potential feelings of guilt, shame or
inadequacy at not progressing faster.

96. Seeing the stages of the model set out and explained
clearly can also help a client to feel that the situation is not
hopeless or beyond their control.
 Instead, it is a situation where they can progress if they are
patient, set realistic achievable goals and don’t panic
when they lapse, but try to adopt a mentality of learning
from experience without judging themselves.


97. 

The model also takes the pressure off the therapist
/ coach to solve all the client’s problems
immediately.
Instead they have a clear framework within which
they can encourage the client to locate their
problem behaviour and select strategies.

98. 

At any stage in the coaching process where the
client appears to be blocked or faltering in
progress, the therapist/ coach can go back to the
model and reassess with the client what stage they
are at and what may be appropriate strategies for
them therefore to adopt.
Different strategies are appropriate for different
stages of the model.

99. Stage
Appropriate Strategies
Pre-Contemplation:
Client not considering trying to
achieve change
For someone at this stage, appropriate information as
to why change may be helpful for the client, provided
in a non authoritarian manner by way of simple
information, may be of use.
Stage 1 - Contemplation:
Client sees some benefits in changing
but is also experiencing or aware of
benefits in not changing
Encourage the client to:
1. Analyse the arguments for and against change (e.g.
to complete a list highlighting and weighing up both
the advantages and the disadvantages of making the
changes they are thinking about)
2. Reflect on different options for change and the likely
effect of them.
3. Consider whether there are any very small ways they
could begin to take steps in the direction of change,
which seem reasonable and achievable to them.

100. Stage
Appropriate Strategies
Stage 2 - Deciding
to try to achieve
change
Encourage client to:
1. Plan change carefully rather than make a rush decision.
2. Break the plan down into achievable goals.
3. Write down commitment to change.
4. Think about where they can get support for following their plans.
Stage 3 - Acting to
achieve change
Encourage client to:
1. Follow their plan, monitor and review progress.
2. Reward and congratulate themselves on successes (even small
successes).
3. Remind themselves of the benefits that will ensue if they achieve
goals and acknowledge & identify those benefits as they happen
(even if only partially achieved)
4. Pace themselves at a level where they will be able to sustain
motivation & if possible allow themselves some time to relax when
they are not focusing on their plan – Recognise they have a life
outside the plan.
5. Learn from things which don’t turn out as they expect.
6. Make use of appropriate support.
7. If they lapse, try not to return back to where they started from but
instead recognise the progress they have made, revise their plan if

101. Stage
Appropriate Strategies
Stage 4 Maintaining
change
Encourage client to:
1. Recognise that development is an
ongoing process.
2. Maintain and review plans until absolutely
sure they are no longer required.
3. Again, if they lapse, try not to return back
to where they started from but instead
recognise the progress they have made and
implement a new plan, learning from the
lapse.
4. Think about whether there is a way they
can help others make positive changes in
the light of their experience.

102. Prochaska, J.O. & DiClemente, C. C. (1982) “Transtheoretical therapy: Toward a more
integrative model of change” from 'Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice', 19, 276288.

103. Psychologists quantify stress in a number of ways.
One of the first approaches to stress concentrated on the
physiological changes which occur. Taking this response
approach the extent of the stress experienced can be
measured by the strength of the individuals
physiological changes.
 These changes are produced by activation of the
sympathetic nervous system and the secretion of the
hormones adrenaline and cortisol.
 A number of physiological changes can be measured, such
as increased heart rate and blood pressure, levels of
sweating and changes in immunological factors or
hormonal activity.



104. 

A different approach to the measurement of stress
is to assess the number of times someone
experiences events or situations that most
people report as being stressful. These can be
major life events (natural
disaster, bereavement, redundancy, divorce) or
minor (argument, losing keys)
Listing such events on a questionnaire to provide a
score representing the experience of stressful
events over a certain timeframe, although
comprehensive enough to cover all relevant
sources of stress for all people can be difficult.

105. 



Another difficulty with this life events approach is that it assumes
that an event causes as much stress for one person as it does
another, but people differ widely in the meaning attached to events.
The other approach (Transactional model)to understanding stress is
to take an approach which recognises individual differences in how
we respond to situations.
The Transactional model of stress proposed by Lazarus and
Folkman (1984) takes an approach that stress is ‘in the eye of the
beholder’.
Taking this approach no event would be seen as stressful in itself,
instead any appraised as stressful depending on how it is
interpreted and how well the person feels that they can cope.

106. 




Lazarus and Folkman (1984) theorised that the
interpretation of an event as stressful is dependant on two
appraisals
1) Meaning attached to the event- benign, a
threat, harmful, or a challenge.
2) Perception of our ability to cope and the resources we
have to meet the requirements of the event.
Stress occurs when a persons perceived or real ability to
cope is exceeded by the perceived or real demands of the
event.
Different people and different types of personalities will
vary in their perception of events and in their perceived
ability to cope with events.

107. 


The transactional approach requires a subjective
measurement of stress.
Subjective stress questionnaires have been
developed (Perceived stress scale Cohen, Kamarck
and Mermelstein ) and researches have also been
able to use structured interviews to explore
relevant sources of stress (Brown and Harris).
Coping checklists have also been developed such
as the COPE scale (Carver, Scheier and Weintraub)
which covers 14 different styles of coping.

108. Link between stress and ill health.





Cannon (1932) coined the term flight or fight response to
describe the physical response of the body to stress.
Early studies (Selye 1966), demonstrated that sustained periods
of stress were accompanied by an increased susceptibility to
illness.
The term allostatic load (coined in the late 20th C) was used to
describe wear and tear to the body caused by stress response
and the impact of lifestyle habits such as smoking and poor
diet (McEwen 1998) .
Although the short term physical changes experienced during the
stress response have a number of benefits in terms of mobilising
the body for action, each stress response causes a degree of
allostatic load, as it places the body in a higher level of
functioning.
Excessive reaction to stress creates additional allostatic load and
damage.

109. Allostatic load is also produced if the body does not
quickly revert back to normal once the stressful event
has passed, or if recovery of physical systems is not
synchronised appropriately.
 Cortisol is the hormone implicated in helping the body
switch off the stress response. However if this is not in
proportion to the levels of activation, then some body
systems example the immune system can be pushed
to levels below optimum functioning.
 Stress may also lead to illness due to a reduction in
care behaviours and an increase in riskier behaviours
such as smoking, eating, alcohol consumption and
drug abuse in people reporting high stress levels.


110. The cardiovascular system is noticeably affected by the
stress response. Researchers have found higher levels of
heart attack, stroke and sudden cardiac death in populations
exposed to major and severe stressors, such as natural
disasters, war or accidents (Saposnik et al 2006).
 Within the brain subtle changes are caused by repeated or
prolonged stress responses which make people more likely
to develop depression (Checkley 1996).
 Long term effects of stress on the immune system lead to
increased levels of coughs, colds, infections (Cohen, Tyrrell
and Smith 1994) as well as delays in wound healing (Glaser
2005)
 Effects of stress can also be seen more widely in those with
increased susceptibility to type 2 diabetes, obesity and
autoimmune disorders (Sapolsky 2004)


111. The
The relationship between job demands, control and stress was
first demonstrated by Karasek (1979) whose studies showed that
employees with the highest level of job demands, but low
levels of control in terms of decision making had higher levels
of stress, disturbed sleep, anxiety and exhaustion.
 Based on this research, Karasek proposed a model of job stress
which suggests that there is an optimum level of demands, with
both very low levels and very high levels causing stress.
 Later models integrated the stress-buffering effects of social
support.
 A systematic review of the evidence collected since Karaseck’s
model was proposed has tended to support the association of
three factors- extreme demands, low control and low support
with rates of illness and staff absence (Michie and Williams
2003)


112. Understanding the factors that make
situations stressful has important
implications for reducing stress levels.
 Research suggests that levels of stress
among health care professionals are higher
than other occupational groups (Michie and
Williams 2003) and a great deal of work has
been conducted on the issue of staff burnout
within medical professions and settings.


113. 

Occupational health psychologists can help
reduce the stressful nature of the work
environment. In part this can be achieved by
reducing the demands of the physical
environment- ensuring noise levels are
reasonable, temperature is comfortable, lighting
appropriate.
Providing workers with some sense of control
over their working environment such as allowing
them to decide the order in which they complete
their tasks can help reduce stress levels.

114. 


Rotating staff between tasks can help to keep
interest levels high, and avoid the problem of too
low a level of demand and boredom.
Increasing opportunities for workers to interact
with each other and take advantage of social
support can also help reduce stress.
A study carried out by Michie, Wren and Williams
(2004) found that making changes in the work
environment of hospital cleaners to increase
control and increase support from other workers
resulted in lower sickness rates.

115. 





Health psychologists also work generally to enable people to
manage the stresses within their lives.
Keeping a diary- aspects of their life that they find stressful.
Analysis of a stress diary may identify events or circumstances
which might be possible to avoid.
Alternatively people can be provided with skills to prevent some
sources of stress in certain situations eg time management and
communication skills workshops.
Another tactic is to try to change how people appraise events and
their coping skills.
The transactional model would suggest that our experience of
stress is determined in part by what we perceive as stressful.
Certain cognitive styles such as always looking at the negative
side, can mean that more of your life is perceived as stressful,
whereas a more optimistic style is associated with reduced
experience of stress.

116. 


Other approaches try to help people reduce the
physical response to stress such as increased heart
rate, blood pressure and breathing rates.
This may be achieved by relaxation training,
progressive muscle relaxation, mediation or
biofeedback.
Health psychologists research on stress continues
to explore the links between stress and illness and
more importantly to investigate methods of
reducing stress in daily life and helping people to
cope better with the stress they experience.

117. Health Psychologists try to help people to lead a healthy
life by developing and running programmes which can
help people to make changes in their lives such as
stopping smoking, reducing the amount of alcohol they
drink, eating more healthily, and taking regular exercise.
 Campaigns informed by health psychology have targeted
tobacco use.
 Practitioners emphasize education and effective
communication as a part of illness prevention because
many people do not recognize, or minimize, the risk of
illness present in their lives.


118. Health psychologists help to promote health and well-being
by preventing illness.
 Some illnesses can be treated better if they are caught early.
 Health Psychologists have worked to understand why some
people do not go for screening or immunisations and are
finding ways to encourage people to have health checks/
screening for illnesses such as cancer or heart disease.
 Health Psychologists are also finding ways to try to help
people to avoid risky behaviours that may affect their health
and well-being, such as unprotected sex and can also help to
encourage regular teeth brushing or hand washing to
prevent future ill health.


119. 


Health psychologists investigate how disease
affects individuals' psychological well-being.
An individual who becomes seriously ill or injured
faces many different practical stressors.
The stressors include problems meeting medical
and other bills; problems obtaining proper care
when home from the hospital; obstacles to caring
for dependents; having one's sense of self-reliance
compromised; gaining a new, unwanted identity as
a sick person; and so on. These stressors can lead
to depression and reduced self-esteem.

120. 


Health psychology also concerns itself with
bettering the lives of individuals with terminal
illness.
When there is little hope of recovery, health
psychologist therapists can improve the quality of
life of the patient by helping the patient recover
at least some of his or her psychological wellbeing.
Health psychologists are also concerned with
identifying the best ways for providing
therapeutic services for the bereaved.

121. Critical health psychologists explore how health policy can
influence inequities, inequalities, and social injustice.
 These avenues of research expand the scope of health
psychology beyond the level of individual health to an
examination of the social and economic determinants of
health both within and between regions and nations.
 The individualism of mainstream health psychology has
been critiqued and deconstructed by critical health
psychologists using newer qualitative methods and
frameworks for investigating health experience and
behaviour.


122. Health Psychologists have advanced skills in a variety
of research methods, which enables them to conduct
research, provide expert advice or collaborate on a
study, for example studying the links between stress
and health.
 Health Psychologists carry out research to answer
questions such as:
 What influences healthy eating?
 How is stress linked to heart disease?
 What are the emotional effects of genetic testing?
 How can we change people’s health behaviour to
improve their health?


123. Health psychologists can also be responsible
for training other health professionals, for
example on how to deliver an intervention to
help promote healthy eating or stopping
smoking, or deliver training in
communication skills such as how to break
bad news, or support behaviour change.
 This can also enhance practitioner–patient
relationships and adherence to treatment.


124. Improving doctor–patient communication
 Health psychologists attempt to aid the process of
communication between Doctors and patients
during medical consultations.
 There are many problems in this process, with
patients showing a considerable lack of
understanding of many medical terms, particularly
anatomical terms. One main area of research on
this topic involves "doctor centred" or "patient
centred" consultations.

125. Improving doctor–patient communication
Doctor centred consultations are generally directive, with
the patient answering questions and playing less of a role
in decision-making.
 Although this style is preferred by elderly people and
others, many people dislike the sense of hierarchy or
ignorance that it inspires.
 Patient centred consultations focus on the patient's
needs, involve the doctor listening to the patient
completely before making a decision, and involve the
patient in the process of choosing treatment and finding a
diagnosis.


126. Improving adherence to medical advice
 Getting people to follow medical advice and adhere to
their treatment regimens is a difficult task for health
psychologists. People often forget to take their
medication or consciously opt not to take their prescribed
medications because of side effects.
 Failing to take prescribed medication is costly and wastes
millions of usable medicines that could otherwise help
other people. Estimated adherence rates are difficult to
measure; there is, however, evidence that adherence
could be improved by tailoring treatment programs to
individuals' daily lives.

127. Managing pain
 Health psychology attempts to find treatments to reduce
and eliminate pain, as well as understand pain anomalies
such as analgesia causalgia, neuralgia, and phantom limb
pain.
 Although the task of measuring and describing pain has
been problematic, the development of the McGill Pain
Questionnaire has helped make progress in this area.
 Treatments for pain involve patient administered
analgesia, acupuncture (found by Berman to be effective
in reducing pain for osteoarthritis of the
knee), biofeedback, and cognitive behaviour therapy.

128. 

Community psychology studies the
individuals' contexts within communities and the
wider society, and the relationships of the
individual to communities and society.
Community psychologists aim to understand the
quality of life of individuals, communities, and
society to enhance quality of life through
collaborative research and action.

129. Community psychology employ various perspectives within
and outside of psychology to address issues of communities,
the relationships within them, and related people's attitudes
and behaviour.
 Rappaport (1977) discusses the perspective of community
psychology as an ecological perspective on the person and
their environment (often related to work environments)
being the focus of study and action instead of attempting to
change the personality of individual or the environment
when an individual is seen as having a problem.
 Community psychology grew out of the community mental
health movement, but evolved dramatically as early
practitioners incorporated their understandings of political
structures and other community contexts into perspectives
on client services.


130. Prevention and health promotion
 Community psychology emphasizes principles and
strategies of preventing social, emotional and behavioural
problems and wellness and health promotion at the
individual and community levels, borrowed from Public
health and Preventive medicine, rather than a passive,
"waiting-mode," treatment-based medical model.
 Universal, selective, primary, and indicated or secondary
prevention (early identification and intervention) are
particularly emphasized.
 Community psychology's contributions to Prevention
Science have been substantial.

131. Empowerment
 One of the goals of community psychology
involves empowerment of individuals and
communities that have been marginalized by
society.
 One definition for the term is "an
intentional, ongoing process centred in the local
community, involving mutual respect, critical
reflection, caring, and group participation, through
which people lacking an equal share of resources
gain greater access to and control over those
resources" (Cornell Empowerment Group).

132. Empowerment


Rappaport's (1984) definition includes:
"Empowerment is viewed as a process: the
mechanism by which people, organizations, and
communities gain mastery over their lives."
While empowerment has had an important place in
community psychology research and
literature, some have criticized its use. Riger
(1993), for example, points to the paradoxical
nature of empowerment being a
masculine, individualistic construct being used in
community research.

133. Social justice
 A core value of community psychology is seeking social
justice through research and action. Community psychologists
are often advocates for equality and policies that allow for the
wellbeing of all people, particularly marginalized populations.
Diversity
 Another value of community psychology involves
embracing diversity. Rappaport includes diversity as a defining
aspect of the field, calling research to be done for the benefit of
diverse populations in gaining equality and justice.
 This value is seen through much of the research done with
communities regardless of ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation,
disability status, socio-economic status, gender and age.

134. Individual wellness
 Individual wellness is the physical and psychological
wellbeing of all people. Research in community psychology
focuses on methods to increase individual
wellness, particularly through prevention and second-order
change.
Citizen participation
 Citizen participation refers to the ability of individuals to
have a voice in decision-making, defining and addressing
problems, and the dissemination of information gathered on
them. This is the basis for the usage of participatory action
research in community psychology, where community
members are often involved in the research process by
sharing their unique knowledge and experience with the
research team and working as co-researchers.

135. Collaboration and community strengths
 Collaboration with community members to
construct research and action projects makes
community psychology an exceptionally applied
field.
 By allowing communities to use their knowledge to
contribute to projects in a collaborative, fair and
equal manner, the process of research can itself be
empowering to citizens. This requires an ongoing
relationship between the researcher and the
community from before the research begins to
after the research is over.

136. Psychological sense of community
 Psychological sense of community (or simply "sense of
community"), was introduced in 1974 by Seymour
Sarason.
 In 1986 a major step was taken by David McMillan and
David Chavis with the publication of their "Theory of Sense
of Community" and in 1990 the "Sense of Community
Index".
 Originally designed primarily in reference to
neighbourhoods, the Sense of Community Index (SCI) can
be adapted to study other communities as well, including
the workplace, schools, religious
communities, communities of interest, etc.

137. Empirical grounding
 Community psychology grounds all advocacy and
social justice action in empiricism. This empirical
grounding is what separates community
psychology from a social movement or grassroots
organization.
 Methods from psychology have been adapted for
use in the field that acknowledge value-driven,
subjective research involving community
members. The methods used in community
psychology are therefore tailored to each
individual research question.

138. 




Abraham, C. (2008). Health Psychology: Topics in
Applied Psychology. London: Hodder.
Bekerian, D. A.,& Levey, A. B. (2011). Applied
Psychology: Putting Theory into Practice. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Coolican, H., Cassidy, T, Dunn, O., & Sharp, R.
(2007). Applied Psychology. London: Hodder &
Stoughton.
Morrison, V., & Bennett, P. (2009). An Introduction
to Health Psychology. Essex: Pearson.
Sarfino, E. P. (2008). Health Psychology:
Biopsychosocial Interactions. New York :wiley.